Leupold Scope?

[gbflyer]

I recently had a VX-6hd fail to track properly or return to zero. Less than 2 weeks out from a big hunt. I called Leupold and explained the situation and guy acted like it still "could be you". I explained my testing, what it did, etc. Guy was very condescending. They shipped it back with the erectors replaced. Less than 200 rounds through it and the gun wasn't bashed around that hard either. I experienced the same issue everyone else did. Zero'ed at 100. Walked out to 700. Started missing. Dialed back down and put two in the same hole 2" high 2" right at 100.

You are not alone. I’ve sent back 5 Leupolds so far. They also do not respond well to being dropped. They do look great in the safe. Trijicon Accupoint 1-4 for me for when it matters.

 

[BeeMaa]

I'd say it's an appropriate power scope for a 9.3x62mm up to 458WM. IMO - Switching over to a Trijicon AccuPoint 1-6x24 will be an upgrade in the quality of your equipment without spending additional money.

It's at least worth looking at before you make a decision.

 

[mikecatt13]

You are not alone. I’ve sent back 5 Leupolds so far. They also do not respond well to being dropped. They do look great in the safe. Trijicon Accupoint 1-4 for me for when it matters.

This is actually shocking to me. I use several VX6 1-6s for 3 gun and literally throw the gun into buckets when transitioning guns. Been doing it for 5 years, amounting to thousands of times and have yet to have even a 1/4moa issue

 

[gbflyer]

This is actually shocking to me. I use several VX6 1-6s for 3 gun and literally throw the gun into buckets when transitioning guns. Been doing it for 5 years, amounting to thousands of times and have yet to have even a 1/4moa issue

Guess I’m just lucky. I’ve never owned anything past a VX3i.

 

[chashardy]

I put the same scope on my 416 Rigby. Works great. Set on 1 it works like a red dot sight.

 

[JimP]

Talking to lots of owners most if not all of the Leopold's that have some kind of failure have the CDS feature.

I have put my VXII ad VX3's through 50 years of hunts with zero failures. None of them have a CDS dial on them

 

[WAB]

Talking to lots of owners most if not all of the Leopold's that have some kind of failure have the CDS feature.

I have put my VXII ad VX3's through 50 years of hunts with zero failures. None of them have a CDS dial on them

I had to send a VX5 3-15x w CDS back. It stopped responding to elevation changes and then suddenly jumped 4moa between shots. They fixed it without question and it appears to work fine now. The experience has me looking seriously at a Mark5 3-18x

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

This is actually shocking to me. I use several VX6 1-6s for 3 gun and literally throw the gun into buckets when transitioning guns. Been doing it for 5 years, amounting to thousands of times and have yet to have even a 1/4moa issue

i use mainly leupolds on our rifles which clients use
only scopes that last and take the abuse, and i mean abuse, are leupolds
had swarovskis, and other makes, lasted maybe 12 months and need repair

 

[mikecatt13]

Guess I’m just lucky. I’ve never owned anything past a VX3i.

I certainly know what that type of luck is like with other products, been there!

 

[gbflyer]

i use mainly leupolds on our rifles which clients use
only scopes that last and take the abuse, and i mean abuse, are leupolds
had swarovskis, and other makes, lasted maybe 12 months and need repair

Do you find the need to frequently check zero? Thanks for your reply.

 

[R.M.C.]

Talking to lots of owners most if not all of the Leopold's that have some kind of failure have the CDS feature.

I have put my VXII ad VX3's through 50 years of hunts with zero failures. None of them have a CDS dial on them

I've never had an issue with any Leupold scope I've ever owned and I've never owned one with a CDS feature. They're awesome scopes

 

[JimP]

I'll tell you about what one of my Leopold's has gone through since it was sighted in over 20 years ago.

One trip to British Colombia with 50+ miles on a horse.

A dozen elk hunts in 3 different states.

A dozen + deer hunts in 3 states

Two trips to South Africa.

Untold miles on a ATV and other vehicles.

In all those years and hunts it has held it's zero from the day that I sighted it in.

This past Junes African trip I thought that I would need to adjust the zero. I watched my rifle case get dropped no fewer than 5 times by either baggage handlers or our PH's as it was being wheeled around on luggage carts.

Guess what, it held it's zero through all those drops. Part of it I will attribute to my rifle case, but the scope did it's part also.

 

[R.M.C.]

I'll tell you about what one of my Leopold's has gone through since it was sighted in over 20 years ago.

One trip to British Colombia with 50+ miles on a horse.

A dozen elk hunts in 3 different states.

A dozen + deer hunts in 3 states

Two trips to South Africa.

Untold miles on a ATV and other vehicles.

In all those years and hunts it has held it's zero from the day that I sighted it in.

This past Junes African trip I thought that I would need to adjust the zero. I watched my rifle case get dropped no fewer than 5 times by either baggage handlers or our PH's as it was being wheeled around on luggage carts.

Guess what, it held it's zero through all those drops. Part of it I will attribute to my rifle case, but the scope did it's part also.

I've had the same experience, I only have to adjust zero if I'm switching loads. Flown to Africa, Canada, drove all over hell and still holds zero. I have at least eight leupolds on rifles .

 

[Nevada Mike]

I have used Leupold scopes for over 40 years. I own 8 or 10 of them. Never a stumble, resight or failure. Used on back country horseback hunts in BC, Blue Mountains, and Hell's Canyon, hunted across the west and in Africa. I depend on them and they have always come through.

 

[meigsbucks]

I have a little over 20 Leupold scopes and have been using them for over forty years. During that time, I’ve only had to send one back: a new 3-9x VX-2, that had an extremely hard to turn power adjustment. Since then it’s worked fine. The only failure in the field was a 30+ year old 3-9x VX-2 on a .30/06. I took a bad fall and landed on it. It began shooting about 6” high at 100 yds. Adjusted down, hasn’t moved with about 150 rounds thru it. I have several other Leupolds that look like they’ve been run thru a wood chippper and still function fine.
To answer your question about power, IMO 6x is only good to about 250yds MAX for PG. I prefer 8x or 10x top end. Unless you’re hunting very open areas, seldom will you need more than 10x and definitely not more than 12x.

 

[Safari Dave]

I have had (and still have) many Leupolds (20+++) over the last 30 years and have never had a problem with a single one of them.

I have been extremely pleased with all of them and have never had to send one back for repair (Vari-X II's, VX-I, up through VX-IIIi's, but nothing of "higher" quality).

I've never experienced the need to have a scope of a higher grade (I also have lower end-Zeiss, a "stupid" expensive Nightforce that I got on a trade, "quality" Burris scopes, one Vortex that was so disappointing that I got rid of it immediately, American-made older Weavers (and newer imports), American-made Redfield's, Sightrons, Bushnells, pretty-expensive Nikons, Truglo's, etc.)

My son, however, is convinced that he has to buy a Nightforce, Trijicon or an SWFA scope to have a scope that is strong enough and tough enough to endure very rigorous hunting. Where a 2 -foot drop will render the scope useless (mountain goats, Alaska, deep-Africa, etc.).

Is he correct about the ruggedness of these optics?

Do I need to underscore the rigidity of the mountings, or are less "rugged" scopes (maybe even my precious Leupolds), need to be considered somewhat delicate?

I have always considered optical quality as the reason to spend big-money on rifle scopes (Swarovski, Zeiss, S&B, etc.).

He's about to put a 2-pound scope on a Tikka T3X lite, because of his perceived (and documented by the "internet" of course) that if he doesn't, it won't survive a twelve inch fall.

Apparently, "**NOT**PERMITTED**" is where all the experts reside now...

 

[Safari Dave]

I am beginning to believe that we may be a little too "moderated"

roksl%$#.@*&

 

[1dirthawker]

You are not alone. I’ve sent back 5 Leupolds so far. They also do not respond well to being dropped. They do look great in the safe.

how many other scopes have you "dropped" that fared well? i had a leupold that came off a rifle spent 6 months under water, ice and being moved by tides that would still be mountable and shot, dropped a different one that worked fine, so how often do you "drop" a gun to have to send 5 of em back???

 

[gbflyer]

how many other scopes have you "dropped" that fared well? i had a leupold that came off a rifle spent 6 months under water, ice and being moved by tides that would still be mountable and shot, dropped a different one that worked fine, so how often do you "drop" a gun to have to send 5 of em back???

Only one that I’ve ever dropped and it didn’t lose zero was an old World Class Tasco. Sling stud pulled out and clattered onto rocks. Minor drop experience with Leupold was 3 MOA zero shift after drop from boat to skiff (~2 feet?) in a padded case inside a Gunboat. That was a 2-7. Sent a M8 12X back twice. Dial in 12 clicks windage and it wouldn’t move. 2 more and it would jump 14. VX 3 6.5-20, wouldn’t hold zero, fogged internally. 36BR, wouldn’t hold zero. Vx2 2-7, needed pliers to turn power ring. Vx3 3-9 fogged internally. Actually dropping those would have made me feel better.

I have 2) Vx3 1.75-6 that are good. Just got a VX3i 2.5-8 that seems good, no field use yet. 2) FX-4’s are good so far.

I don’t doubt your sample of 1 survived some of the things you describe. We don’t have ice cover to go with our tides here. Too warm I guess. Probably do some harm to the finish scraping the barnacles off after 6 months too.

 

[bassasdaindia]

Leupold are my favorite scopes , you don’t say what rifle you are putting it on .
For PG I would recommend the VX6 2-12 only because it gives you more versatility.